The University of Florida’s Office of Strategic Communications and Marketing selected a paper authored by Maddalena Parafati, Ph.D., research assistant professor of cellular and systems pharmacology in the UF College of Pharmacy, for its Research Promotion Initiative funding. The highly competitive contest awards $1,000 for accepted research highlighting important initiatives across the university.
Bringing complementary expertise, Parafati played a key role in a multidisciplinary project led by Siobhan Malany, Ph.D., an associate professor of cellular and systems pharmacology, focusing on innovative translational models of muscle biology and degeneration, including spaceflight-enabled research platforms.
Parafati’s paper, “Microgravity accelerates skeletal muscle degeneration: Functional and transcriptomic insights from an ISS muscle lab-on-chip model,” was published in the journal Stem Cell Reports and explores how microgravity affects skeletal muscle tissue. Using 3D bioengineered skeletal muscle tissues cultured in an autonomous laboratory platform aboard the International Space Station, the study modeled tissue degeneration under space flight conditions. The tissue samples were preserved for post-light analysis of transcriptomic, protein and extracellular vesicle data. Parafati demonstrated that microgravity accelerates skeletal muscle degeneration in an age-dependent manner, affecting mitochondrial integrity and bioenergetic regulation and showing reduced contractile performance, highlighting electrical stimulation as a potential countermeasure to mitigate muscle decline.